


Tan Lines

by theknightofvale



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-30
Updated: 2014-06-30
Packaged: 2018-02-06 19:44:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1870062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theknightofvale/pseuds/theknightofvale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cecil gets a very embarrassing surprise after falling asleep out in the sun.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tan Lines

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was written for weeeeeenis on tumblr!!

Carlos had always found Cecil a bit odd. Of course, by Night Vale standards, Cecil was perfectly normal. But from Carlos’ outside experience, Cecil was very different. Carlos didn’t mind Cecil’s differences, though. In fact, they were one of Carlos’ favorite parts about his boyfriend. He found Cecil’s odd quirks to be adorable, and sometimes sexy. 

Among Cecil’s quirks was his seemingly—and in Night Vale, maybe even probably—endless supply of sweaters. Cecil owned sweaters ranging from solid, knit ones to animal-patterned ones that Carlos adored on Cecil, but would never tolerate them anywhere else. Carlos had a hypothesis that Cecil was the only person in the world who could make ugly sweaters look adorable. 

This particular collection came into play during a particularly sunny, very hot summer day. Even for the desert, it was hot as hell. Carlos had even decided to forego his long-sleeved lab coat that day and just wore his Periodic Table shirt and a pair of cargo shorts to the lab. He made a mental note not to work with any dangerous or corrosive materials. 

Before he left the house that day, Carlos had decided that he was going to come home from the lab and eat lunch with Cecil. They hadn’t done so in a while, and he was sure that Cecil would be thrilled by the pleasant surprise. He left the cool, air-conditioned paradise of the lab and began the short walk home in the sweltering heat. 

As he neared the little house he and Cecil shared, Carlos noticed Cecil lounging out front in his lawn chair. That activity would be completely normal for Cecil usually, as he did enjoy getting his sun, but today Cecil was wearing long pants and a sweater, the antithesis of Carlos’ outfit. Cecil’s sweater today was pretty normal. It was a soft purple color with diamonds outlined in hot pink crossing the chest. 

What is he doing out here dressed like this?! Carlos wondered. He could have heat stroke or something! 

Carlos reached out and shook his boyfriend’s shoulder, hoping that he would actually react to the shake. Thankfully, Cecil’s eyes slowly opened, and then shot open once he registered Carlos in front of him. Cecil jumped up with a huge smile on his face.

“Carlos!” he said, drawing out the O a little longer than necessary (which wasn’t anything new), “You’re home! How long was I asleep? Oh dear, did I miss my show?”

Carlos laughed, amused by his flustered boyfriend, “No, I’m here for lunch! We haven’t eaten lunch together in a while so I thought I would surprise you!” 

Cecil smiled wider and moved closer to Carlos, “Thank you for the surprise!” He rose slightly on his toes, as Carlos was a bit taller than he was, and kissed Carlos lightly on the nose. The two smiled at each other before Carlos remembered what he had previously been worried about.

“Hey, Cecil,” he said as he headed for the front door, “Aren’t you really hot in those clothes? You just slept directly in the sun for who-knows-how-long. I can’t believe you don’t have heat stroke or anything.”

Cecil shrugged, “I suppose I am a bit sweaty. But other than that, I’m pretty used to it. I prefer warmer temperatures anyway.” 

Of course, Cecil had lived in the hot temperatures of Night Vale his whole life, as opposed to Carlos who spent most of his childhood in Upstate New York. Night Vale, scientific improbabilities aside, was a very different place from where Carlos grew up. And, of course, Carlos himself had been Cecil’s eternal heat source during Night Vale’s very cold nights. Cecil tended to cling to Carlos for dear life if the house temperature dropped below 60 degrees. Carlos had also figured out a while ago that Cecil wasn’t quite human. He mentally slapped himself for not putting all of that together in his haste to wake Cecil up. Hasty was the last thing a scientist should be. 

Carlos opened the front door and let Cecil in before him. As they walked in, Carlos closing the door behind them, Cecil stripped out of his sweater, revealing a white t-shirt underneath, and—

Carlos stopped dead in his tracks. He traced from Cecil’s fingertips, up his arm, across his upper back, and down his other arm with his eyes. His hand found its way to his mouth as he tried to hold back either a gasp or his laughter. He couldn’t tell if it was funny or not. 

“Ceec,” Carlos let slip out of his mouth, closing it back up right away.

Cecil turned around, and Carlos almost burst completely. He had decided this was funny. Hilarious, actually. Cecil’s contented look quickly switched to concern as he took in the sight of his red-faced boyfriend.

“Carlos, are you alright?”

Carlos took a deep breath and tried not to laugh, “I… I think the r-real question is… are, uh... are you,” Carlos snorted, “are you okay?”

Cecil furrowed his brow, “What do you mean by that? Of course I’m fine, I told you that.” 

Carlos shook his head, trying to regain his composure. “Ceec,” he bent over as he snorted loudly, “Ceec, I didn’t mean it that way.” Carlos sucked in a breath, becoming redder in the face. “Look at your arms.”

Cecil lifted his arms in front of himself and stared at them. What he saw was not what he expected. He was a naturally tan person due to living in the desert and from having Native American ancestry, but what he saw took tan to a new level. 

Cecil’s hands were tanner than the rest of his arms. Significantly tanner. His deep purple tattoos were shyly skirting around the edges of the very bold tan lines, not sure what to make of them. Cecil’s purple eyes widened to the point where Carlos swore they could have merged together into one eye.

“I think you spent a bit too much time in the sun, Ceec!” Carlos teased. 

Cecil’s glance switched between his odd tan lines and Carlos. Back and forth, back and forth. Cecil was speechless. He suddenly realized what he had done. 

“Oh my gosh, Carlos,” Cecil said quietly, “I accidentally only tanned my hands and my head, didn’t I?”

Carlos nodded, crossing his arms and adopting an amused smile on his face. He heard laughter coming from elsewhere, and was momentarily taken aback. He realized just a moment later that it was probably just the Sheriff’s Secret Police enjoying this moment with the couple. 

“That’s what I get for wearing comfy clothes out in my chair! I knew I would fall asleep, I just didn’t think it would be that long!” Cecil cried.

“How long were you out there?” Carlos asked.

Cecil shook his head, “I went out maybe like… 45 minutes after you left for the lab?”

Carlos laughed, “Ceec, you were out there for almost five hours, no wonder your tan is so… defined.”

“Oh my gosh, Carlos, this is so embarrassing!” Cecil cried, moving further into the house as though to hide himself from Carlos and the SSP. “What am I going to do?”

Carlos followed his boyfriend, “I suppose you can go out again after I’m gone and try to even out the tan? Put on a short sleeve shirt and some shorts, take off your shoes. That might help?”

Cecil nodded. He had made his way into the kitchen and was now leaning against the counter. “Of course. I’ll try that. Thank you, Carlos.”

Carlos nodded and headed closer to Cecil, “Always glad to help. That’s the fifth thing a scientist is—helpful.”

Cecil laughed and raised himself up on his toes, giving his boyfriend a kiss on the lips. The kiss lasted a bit longer than either of them expected, and Carlos thought he heard some whistles coming from the open window above the sink. 

They’ll never leave us alone, will they? Carlos thought briefly, before getting distracted by the kiss once again.

When they finally broke apart, the two smiled widely at each other. 

“Now,” said Carlos with a loud clap, “Let’s make some lunch.”


End file.
